Justino overcame some mild adversity to retain the
Ultimate Fighting Championship women’s featherweight title, as
she took care of Yana
Kunitskaya with punches in the first round of their UFC
222 headliner on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The
latest in a long line of “Cyborg” victims, Kunitskaya (10-4, 0-1
UFC) bowed out 3:25 into Round 1.

To her credit, the challenger did not hold back. She executed a low
single-leg takedown against Justino early on, employed a dogged
clinch and nearly advanced to the Brazilian’s back. However,
Justino’s ferocious punching power proved to be far too big of an
obstacle. “Cyborg” had Kunitskaya ducking for cover with more than
one overhand right and finally drove her to the mat with a straight
right hand down the middle. Standing-to-ground punches followed,
forcing referee Herb Dean to
act.

The 32-year-old Justino (20-1, 5-0 UFC) has rattled off 10 straight
victories, nine of them finishes.

Ortega Punches Out Edgar

Former
Resurrection Fighting Alliance champion Brian
Ortega established himself as the clear No. 1 contender at 145
pounds, as he put away the indomitable Frankie
Edgar with punches in the first round of their co-main event. A
replacement for injured featherweight titleholder Max
Holloway, Ortega (14-0, 6-0 UFC) brought it to a spectacular
close 4:44 into Round 1.

Edgar (22-6-1, 16-6-1) pressed the issue, unleashed body-head
combinations and forced the undefeated Rener Gracie disciple onto
his back foot. During a close-quarters exchange, Ortega turned the
tide in an instant with a devastating standing elbow. Edgar
staggered and retreated but found no refuge. Ortega floored him
with a crushing right uppercut, trailed him to the canvas and
closed the deal with a pair of hammerfists.

The loss snapped a two-fight winning streak for Edgar, who had
never before been finished.

O’Malley Bests Soukhamthath Despite Injury

Unbeaten
MMA Lab prospect Sean
O'Malley kept his perfect professional record intact with a
unanimous decision over Andre
Soukhamthath in a featured bantamweight confrontation. All
three judges sided with O’Malley (10-0, 2-0 UFC): 29-27, 29-27 and
29-28.

Soukhamthath (12-6, 1-3 UFC) had no answers for his 23-year-old
counterpart. O’Malley switched stances and assaulted him from every
imaginable angle with a variety of strikes, including a spinning
backfist and a spinning hook kick in the first round. At the end of
the first five minutes, a dazed Soukhamthath stumbled back to his
corner on unsteady footing. O’Malley showed off his submission
skills for much of the middle stanza, where he made passes at a
triangle choke, an armbar, a guillotine and a rear-naked choke,
further flummoxing Soukhamthath.

Ahead on the scorecards, all of O’Malley’s hard work nearly went
for naught in the third round. There, he suffered a lower leg
injury on a blocked head kick. Unable to stand, he retreated to his
back and managed to survive for what seemed like an eternity.
Soukhamthath unwittingly aided the ailing Arizonan’s cause by
securing a pair of takedowns and allowing him to ride out the
remaining time.

Resurgent Arlovski Overcomes Struve

American Top Team’s Andrei
Arlovski won for the second time in as many appearances, as the
former UFC champion recorded a unanimous decision against Stefan
Struve in a three-round heavyweight feature. Arlovski (27-15,
16-9 UFC) swept the scorecards with 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 marks
from the judges.

Outside of an exchange on the ground in the second round, Struve
(28-10, 12-8 UFC) failed to shift out of neutral. Arlovski backed
up the 6-foot-11 Dutchman with multi-punch bursts, tore into his
leg with kicks and showed off a new wrinkle to his game, executing
a career-high five takedowns.

Struve, 30, has suffered back-to-back defeats.

Still-Perfect Vieira Sinks Zingano

Takedowns, ground-and-pound and positional control carried
undefeated
Nova Uniao standout Ketlen
Vieira to a split decision over Cat Zingano
in a women’s bantamweight showcase. All three judges scored it
29-28: Sal D’Amato and Dave Hagen
for Vieira, Marcos Rosales for Zingano.

Zingano (9-3, 2-3 UFC) paired clubbing right hands upstairs with
kicks and knees to the body, but she could not keep the Brazilian
at bay. Vieira (10-0, 4-0 UFC) countered effectively and landed a
takedown in the first round, then found another gear in the second.
There, she executed a beautiful judo throw and threatened with an
arm-triangle choke before settling in guard and applying her
ground-and-pound. Zingano conceded another takedown in Round 3 but
escaped to her feet and fought with a sense of urgency, as she
unleashed punches, knees and body kicks. Even so, her efforts fell
short and she remained winless since September 2014.